Washington DC, 16 Feb 2012-The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) participated in a consultation panel of experts on Environmental Law and Regulation in the Arab World. The meetings were hosted by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) at the US Department of Commerce. in Washington between 13-16 February. AFED delegation included Secretary General Najib Saab, Program Manager Bashar Zeitoon, accompanied by experts who contributed to legal and governance aspects of AFED reports, Dr, Ibrahim Abdelgelil, Director of Environment Program at Arabia Gulf University, and water law specialist Dr. Tareq Majzoub.. The panel also included Tunisian judge Mejda ben Jaafar and MIT professor Nicholas Ashford. A background paper on environmental challenges in the Arab region, prepared legal adviser Farah Killidar, primarily drew on AFED's annual reports. The first phase of project covers Iraq.

The panel agreed on work agenda and held meetings with officials from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and other units. At a visit to the Department of Justice, the panel met at Environment and Natural Resources Division with the Assistant Attorney General Ms. Ignacia S. Moreno and senior legal team, who gave an overview of the work of the Division in the enforcing environmental law. The panel also visited the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), where its President John Cruden and senior experts briefed them on its work and discussed cooperation prospects for better environmental governance.